Smoking pipe

ABSTRACT

A smoking pipe having interrupted channels on the interior wall of the bowl that extend downwardly from the rim to adjacent the bottom of the bowl interior, the dimensions of the channels where they open into the bowl being such that tobacco particles exceeding a predetermined size will not crowd into the channels. Moreover, the channels provide air-entrance spaces through which air may be drawn downwardly over and around the glowing ember of the burning tobacco and into the smoke-producing zone directly below the glowing ember. The channels are large enough so that the indrawn air is much lower in temperature than if the air were drawn through the glowing ember, thus avoiding distillation of high-temperature smoke fractions (temperature of about 1,000* to 1,600* F). However, the channels are small enough that the indrawn air will be heated to the proper range to drive off or distill the low-temperature smoke fractions (temperature range of about 400* to 1,000* F.).

United States Patent Lebert Feb. 29, 1972 [54] SMOKING PIPE 72 lnventor: Herbert A. Lebert, 25 Windsor Drive,

Hillsborough, Calif. 94010 [22] Filed: Apr. 13, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 27,598

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 788,449, Jan. 2,

1969, abandoned.

[56] Reierences Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATXONS Brooks ..131/198A 7 Primary Examirier-Joseph S. Reich Attamey.loseph F. Cole [57] ABSTRACT A smoking pipe having interrupted channels on the interior wall of the bowl that extend downwardly from the rim to adjacent the bottom of the bowl interior, the dimensions of the channels where they open into the bowl being such that tobacco particles exceeding a predetermined size will not crowd into the channels. Moreover, the channels provide air-entrance spaces throughwhich air may be drawn downwardly over and around the glowing ember of the burning tobacco and into the smoke-producing zone directly below the glowing ember. The channels are large enough so that the indrawn air is much lower in temperature than if the air were drawn through the glowing ember, thus avoiding distillation of hightemperature smoke fractions (temperature of about l,000 to 1,600 F). However, the channels are small enough that the indrawn air will be heated to the proper range to drive off or 2:708 1910 Great i i 216 distill the low-temperature smoke fractions (temperature 7,289 1901 Great Britain 131/216 range f b t 400 to 900 2,532 1859 Great Britain... .....13l/226 15,867 1886 Great Britain l 3 1/ 198 R 4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures 25 7115 11 4; 24 41 u it y a an 9 time? "5],

PAIENTEDrwzs m2 INVENTOR.

H E HE E Rh- A.LEBERT ATTORNEY SMOKING PIPE CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This is a continuation-in-part application of my copending application for Smoking Pipe, Ser. No. 788,449, filed in the U8. Patent Office on Jan. 2, 1969, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In recent years there has been a great deal of study given to the problem of reducing and hopefully eliminating the harmful products of combustion during smoking, and various advances have been made in that field. So far as I know, however, very little effective work has been done in that direction in connection with the smoking of tobacco in pipes.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a smoking pipe so constructed and arranged as to reduce the maximum temperature of combustion during heavy smoking particularly, and even during relatively mild smoking.

Another object of the invention is to provide a smoking pipe which generally is of customary construction and arrangement but which is augmented in such a way as to inhibit the formation at high temperatures of deleterious substances in the smoke.

A further object of the invention is to provide a smoking pipe which will not only initially reduce the maximum combustion temperatures but will be efiective to do so over a protracted period of time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a smoking pipe constructed pursuant to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the bowl of the pipe disclosed in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the same pipe;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 3, but showing interrupted air-entrance channels formed in the interior wall of the bowl;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 4, but showing interrupted air-entrance channels provided in a liner that is pressed into the bowl;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of a pipe wherein a liner is disposed in the bowl, and this liner has spaced projections extending inwardly of the bowl.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The smoking pipe of the present invention is for the customary use by tobacco smokers, who usually smoke the tobacco after it has been comminuted into particles or shreds. Customarily these particles or shreds are varying sizes and configurations.

For use with tobacco in this form, I provide pursuant to my invention, a pipe 6 including the usual fashion of a bowl 7 of any material, such as brierroot. The bowl has a stem portion 9 integral therewith to which a mouthpiece or bit 11 is attached in the regular way. The bowl 7 defines an interior wall 13 extending from an open top 14 to a bottom chamber 16. A smoke passage 17 extends from the chamber 16 through the stem 9 and through the mouthpiece 11 as is customary.

It will be noted that the interior wall 13 of the bowl 7 is provided with a number of continuous air-entrance channels 21, and each of these channels is preferably straight in axial contour and may be semicircular or other shape in transverse cross section. Each channel merges with the upper rim 22 of the pipe bowl, being at that point completely open to the atmospheric air, and extends downwardly into the bowl to adjacent the bottom of the bowl interior, i.e., the channels 21 extend for substantially the entire active interior of the bowl.

The optimum width of each channel where it opens into the bowl interior is approximately 0.025 inch, whereby tobacco particles exceeding this dimension cannot crowd into the channels to any appreciable extent. This is important not only so that the channels are not temporarily blocked, but also in order that tobacco particles are not wedged in the channels as permanentblocks.

The channels 21 provide air-entrance spaces extending downwardly over and around the tobacco charge 23 in the smoke-producing zone 24 directly below the glowing ember 8 of the burning tobacco, the channels being large enough so that the air may be drawn over and around the glowing ember and into the smoke-producing zone, with the indrawn air being much lower in temperature than if the air were drawn through the glowing ember, thus avoiding the distillation of the high-temperature smoke fractions (temperature range of about 1,000 to 1,600 F However, the channels 21 are small enough so that the indrawn air will be heated to the proper range to driveoff or distill the low-temperature smoke fractions (temperature range of about 400 to i,000 F.) and preclude the smoke from being diluted with excess air.

It has been found that the total cross-sectional area ofall of the entrance spaces defined by the channels 21 should approximate an opening 0.001 inch wide multiplied by a length equal to the circumference of the inner wall 13 of the bowl.

It will be noted that the channels 21 are relatively small in transverse section and a large number of these channels are provided. Moreover, the channels are arranged relatively close to one another. This'arrangement serves to supply the low-temperature air to substantially all of the tobacco in the bowl area.

In the event the channels are not present, a rather sporadic and periodic inspiration of air through the glowing ember 8 abruptly increases the resultingtemperature of combustion of the tobacco particles to quite high peak values, for example, 1,600 F. At these higher temperatures the products of combustion include deleterious fractions. However, with the channels 21 as described, air inspired from the atmosphere passes over and around the glowing ember 8 and into the smokeproducing zone 24, and flows within the channels 21 after being heated by passing over the marginal edges of the glowing ember instead of through the ember, as takes place in a bowl without these channels.

The result of this is that much less air from the atmosphere and at much lower velocity passes through the combustion zone. It is believed that the peak or maximum temperatures of combustion are appreciably less then they otherwise would be, for example, the temperatures are held to 400 to 1,000 F. and that the products of combustion are substantially devoid of high-temperature deleterious products, since I prevent the latter from forming in the first place. The net result is not so much that the smoker gets a somewhat cooler smoke but, more importantly, that the products of combustion supplied to the smoker are relatively free of the high-temperature formed deleterious materials.

Since the channels 21 extend for substantially the full active length of the bowl, the effect is substantially the same during burning of the tobacco charge 23 even though the glowing ember 8 gradually moves toward the bottom 16 of the bowl as the tobacco is consumed. Particularly since the channels are relatively narrow, they do not become clogged, but rather are bridged by the tobacco particles or shreds and thus act with substantial uniformity throughout the smoking period.

In this invention there is provided a way of controlling the combustion of the tobacco in such a fashion as to preclude high combustion temperatures and to provide a number of air shunt channels not likely to be blocked by the tobacco particles but to provide a consistent supply of atmospheric air passing downwardly over and into the combustion zone in the pipe bowl and in an amount which ensures that only relatively low combustion temperatures and, so, no appreciable amounts of deleterious products of combustion are generated.

As previously pointed out, all of the channels 21 extend for substantially the entire active interior of the bowl 7. Thus these channels will continue to supply indrawn air to the smoke-producing zone 24 as the glowing ember 8 descends during continued smoking of the tobacco 23.

Referring now to the modification shown in FIG. 4, it will be observed that I have used a number of interrupted air-entrance channels 25 formed in the interior wall 13 of the bowl 7, each of these channels having one or more barrier points 26 therein defined by unchanneled portions in the bowl, thus subdividing each channel 25 into a plurality of segments.

In this case of interrupted channels, and with the barrier points 26 varying from channel to channel, that is staggered at different levels of the bowl interior along substantially the entire height thereof as shown in FIG. 4, an arrangement is provided where air cannot enter a channel 25 at the top of the pipe bowl 7 and flow in a continuous path to the exit at the bottom chamber 16. In other words, air can flow down and around the glowing ember 8; and, if the ember has burned down to a point where a given channel segment ends at a barrier point 26, the air has a number of other channels to flow into and around the glowing ember into the smoke-producing zone 24 to distill smoke at a lower temperature than if the air had flowed through the ember. As soon as the pipe 6 is smoked a few more puffs, the short barrier point 26 in a given channel will have been passed and that particular channel can function again, and will continue to function as the ember 8 burns beyond the barrier point in some other channel.

In reduction to practice, channels 25 dimensioned 0.025 inch wide by 0.025 inch deep have been used, with each individual channel having one or more barrier points 26 therein, i.e., the interior wall 13 of the bowl was unchanged for a short span to provide the barrier point. Such a barrier point may have a length of about 1/16 inch, although this is not critical, but the interrupted channels do prevent a continuous path for the indrawn air.

In addition to testing the possible ways of forming the interrupted channels 25 by cutting them with asaw-type cutter, it has been found that pipe briar material can be grooved to form these channels by simply pressing the desired form of steel strip into the briar. The latter does not crack if it is properly supported on the outside of the bowl, and the pressure-fonned groove or channel keeps its shape, even though no briar material has been removed by the process. It should be understood that the channels 21 in FIGS. 1 to 3, inclusive, could be formed in the same way.

Inasmuch as the barrier points 26 in the several channels 25 are staggered, that is, the barrier points are not all at the same level, it follows that at least half of the channels 25 are available at all times to pass heated air into the smoke-producing zone 24 for smoke distillation or formation. Moreover, the barrier points in any given channel is short as compared to the channel length so that nearly all of the airspaces are available at any given time as the pipe is being smoked. It should be obvious that the barrier points 26 cause the indrawn air to be deflected inwardly toward the tobacco charge 23 in the smoke-producing zone.

Referring now to the modification shown in FIG. 5, this is quite similar to FIG. 4, but here a liner 27 is pressed into the bowl 7 so as to fit against the interior wall 13. The air-entrance channels 25a and the barrier points 260 are provided in this liner, and the latter may be made from metal with a low thermal conductivity, or ceramic, to avoid too much heat radiation that will result in the glowing ember 8 going out. Such a liner could be less expensive than reworking the pipe bowl 7, since conventional perforated metal may be cut into such a size as could be rolled into the proper shape to be inserted into the pipe bowl.

Moreover, it has been found that tobacco residue has much less tendency to adhere to metal or ceramic than it has to adhere to briar material. Also, a small brush may be used to wipe the tobacco residue from the liner channels. By way of example, Type 304 Stainless, 0.020 inch thick with punches slots 0.020 inch wide and slot lengths varying from 5/32 inch to 54 inch has been used.

The total cross-sectional area of all of the air-entrance channels 25 in FIG. 4, or the channels 25a in FIG. 5, should be approximately the same as that in FIGS. 1 to 3, inclusive, thus avoiding the distillation of high-temperature smokefractions within the range of l,000 to 1,600 F. Moreover, the optimum widths of the channels 25 and 250 where they open into the bowl interior should be approximately 0.025 inch, or even less, whereby the tobacco particles exceeding this dimension cannot crowd into the channels to any appreciable extent.

In the further modification shown in FIG. 6, a metal or ceramic liner 28 has been disclosed as being disposed in the pipe bowl 7 and bearing against the interior wall 13 thereof. This liner has a large number of spaced projections 29 extending inwardly of the bowl and staggered relative to one another at different levels of the bowl interior along substantially the entire height thereof so as to define circuitous or roundabout air-entrance channels 25b between adjacent projections and through which air may be indrawn during puffs. These projections are disposed to hold the tobacco particles from entering the channels 25b to any appreciable extent and, also, these projections deflect the indrawn air toward the tobacco charge. As the glowing ember 8 descends during smoking, air will continue to enter the smoke-producing zone 24 in the same manner as in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, preventing distillation or formation of undesired high-temperature smoke fractions. Of course, the projections 25b could be formed directly on the interior wall 13 of the pipe bowl and the liner 28 omitted. The air-entrance channels 25b should have about the same crosssectional total area as in the embodiments of the invention described earlier.

Iclaim:

1. In a smoking pipe having a generally vertical bowl for holding a charge of tobacco particles to be smoked, and a stem provided with a smoke passageway communicating with the bottom portion of the bowl interior:

a. the bowl having a plurality of channels extending downwardly substantially from the rim of the bowl to adjacent the bottom of the bowl interior;

b. the channels providing free air-entrance spaces extending downwardly over the tobacco charge in the smokeproducing zone directly below the glowing ember of the burning tobacco, the channels being large enough so that the air may be drawn downwardly over and around the glowing ember and into the smoke-producing zone, with the indrawn air being heated to a much lower temperature than if the air were drawn through the glowing ember, thus avoiding the distillation of the high-temperature smoke fractions (temperature range of about l,000 to l,600 F.

c. the channels being small enough so that the air passing downwardly over and around the glowing ember will be heated to the proper range to distill low-temperature smoke fractions (temperature range of about 400 to 1 ,000 F.

d. each of the channels being interrupted along its length by a series of barrier points subdividing each channel into a plurality of segments and preventing air entering the channels at the top of the pipe bowl from flowing in a continuous path to the exits at the bottom of the bowl interior, these barrier points being disposed to deflect the indrawn air toward the tobacco charge in the bowl;

e. and the barrier points in adjacent interrupted channels being staggered relative to one another at different levels of the bowl interior along substantially the entire height thereof so that all of them are not at the same level and at least half of the channels are available at all times to pass air into the smoke-producing zone as the glowing ember descends in the bowl.

2. The smoking pipe, as set forth in claim 1;

f. and in which the interrupted channels and barrier points are formed directly in the interior wall of the pipe bowl.

3. The smoking pipe, as set forth in claim 1;

g. said bowl having a liner placed therein and in which the interrupted channels and barrier points are formed in said liner.

4. The smoking pipe, as set forth in claim 3;

h. and in which a multiplicity of projections extend inwardly from the liner and are staggered at different levels of the bowl, these projections being spaced from one another to define said air-entrance channels therebetween, the projections being disposed to hold the tobacco particles from crowding into the interrupted channels to any appreciable extent. 

1. In a smoking pipe having a generally vertical bowl for holding a charge of tobacco particles to be smoked, and a stem provided with a smoke passageway communicating with the bottom portion of the bowl interior: a. the bowl having a plurality of channels extending downwardly substantially from the rim of the bowl to adjacent the bottom of the bowl interior; b. the channels providing free air-entrance spaces extending downwardly over the tobacco charge in the smoke-producing zone directly below the glowing ember of the burning tobacco, the channels being large enough so that the air may be drawn downwardly over and around the glowing ember and into the smoke-producing zone, with the indrawn air being heated to a much lower temperature than if the air were drawn through the glowing ember, thus avoiding the distillation of the hightemperature smoke fractions (temperature range of about 1,000* to 1,600* F.); c. the channels being small enough so that the air passing downwardly over and around the glowing ember will be heated to the proper range to distill low-temperature smoke fractions (temperature range of about 400* to 1,000* F.); d. each of the channels being interrupted along its length by a series of barrier points subdividing each channel into a plurality of segments and preventing air entering the channels at the top of the pipe bowl from flowing in a continuous path to the exits at the bottom of the bowl interior, these barrier points being disposed to deflect the indrawn air toward the tobacco charge in the bowl; e. and the barrier points in adjacent interrupted channels being staggered relative to one another at different levels of the bowl interior along substantially the entire height thereof so that all of them are not at the same level and at least half of the channels are available at all times to pass air into the smoke-producing zone as the glowing ember descends in the bowl.
 2. The smoking pipe, as set forth in claim 1; f. and in which the interrupted channels and barrier points are formed directly in the interior wall of the pipe bowl.
 3. The smoking pipe, as set forth in claim 1; g. said bowl having a liner placed therein and in which the interrupted channels and barrier points are formed in said liner.
 4. The smoking pipe, as set forth in claim 3; h. and in which a multiplicity of projections extend inwardly from the liner and are staggered at different levels of the bowl, these projections being spaced from one another to define said air-entrance channels therebetween, the projections being disposed to hold the tobacco particles from crowding into the interrupted channels to any appreciable extent. 